'Challenges to culture in name of secularism': UPSC question triggers row

A question asked during a recruitment examination on Saturday (September 21) by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) triggered a new controversy, the media reported.

The question — “What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism?” — was asked in the UPSC Mains examination, the second stage for recruitment to IAS, IPS and IFS services, reported NDTV. The Civil Services (Mains) examinations are being held from September 20 till September 29.

Kannan Gopinathan, the former IAS officer who had quit the coveted services this August stating that he was “disturbed” over the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, responded to the question on Twitter saying, “‘Indian secularism is a positive concept, taking along and encouraging all the cultural practices while instilling a scientific temper against superstitions and harmful practices,’ would have been the first sentence of my answer!”

"Indian secularism is a positive concept, taking along and encouraging all the cultural practices while instilling a scientific temper against superstitions and harmful practices.", would have been the first sentence of my answer! https://t.co/MUsCYlh0OZ

— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) September 22, 2019

The paper also had questions such as “What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture?” and “Did Indian renaissance play a role in the emergence of national identity?” TheNewsMinute quoted a candidate as saying.

Also read | IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan asked to continue with duty